Japanese overseas investment doubles

Press, 30 May 1987, Page 27

Japanese overseas investment doubles

PA Tokyo Japanese investment overseas almost doubled in the last financial year to a record $U522.3 billion, the Government announced.

Japanese were encouraged to invest abroad because of the yen’s rise against the dollar, and in hopes of circumventing mounting trade problems with other nations.

Nearly half the total invested abroad was used to buy into foreign companies. Another half was lent to foreign firms in which Japanese already stake. Twe total investment in

the fiscal year ending March 31 was up from SUSI 2.2 billion the previous year.

The figures do not include purchases of foreign property as companies do not have to report such investments to the Government.

About 46 per cent of the investments were in the United States, Japan’s largest trading partner.

After the U.S. came Panama, with investment from Japan totalling SUS 2.4 billion. Investments in Luxemburg were third at 1.1 billion and in Britain fourth at sjightly less than one billiqfi.

A Finance Ministry official said about a third of total investment went into the finance and insurance business, helped by recent liberalisation of financial markets worldwide. The rest went into real estate or manufacturing. The Government said investments coming into Japan totalled SUS94O million in the last financial year, mostly in the machinery, chemical, and trading industries.

The United States was the largest investor with SUS4BB million. Switzerland ranked second with SUSB9 million.